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jelkebooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I received a galley of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ugh, reviewing this is going to be difficult, because arguably this book was dogshit. However, I did read it in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. I honeslty think the writing is absolutely terrible. The switching between scenes or different character's POV's just felt so chaotic. The writing was also just extremely simplistic and repetetive. It got a bit grating at times, especially at the start when the plot hadn't really started yet. There was also so much info-dump, most of which wasn't nececary.
I do think the mystery was very gripping though. It definitely isn't a great plot either. Characters just kept just giving everything to our main characters out of nowhere. Our two main characters were also just so incredibly stupid, and honestly it's good that the side characters just told them everything with no prompting because otherwise they would have never gotten anywhere at all. They have 0 researching skills, and it was absolutely shocking when I was told they had been taking a journalism class for 3 years now, because their journalistic "skills" were abysmal. The reveal at the end was also just not shocking at all. However, it still had me completely gripped, and I just didn't want to put the book down.
I also just really didn't like the two main characters. Cam and Blair were just insufferable. I mean, Blair was just annoying, Cam was the absolutely worst. Like I mentioned before they had 0 journalistic skills, they also had 0 interest in true crime they just decided to make a true crime podcast because it's a get famous quick scheme basically. I also think it was very obvious that this book was written by a man. Like, teenage girls do absolutely not behave like that. At times it also felt a bit cringe in the way the author tried sound young. I don't know if that makes sense? It just didn't really make this book work for me.
On top of that I also just think this book tried to say some meaningful things about true crime, the justice system, and all the issues within it but I just don't think it did so succesfully. The talking points just felt very basic, and also a bit forced into the book. It just didn't feel natural. I also just feel like it could have gone a bit more in depth if it really wanted to have something to say, because now it didn't really. So yeah, in conclusion I didn't think this book was good at all but for some reason I couldn't look away, and I will probably read more (woops).
Ugh, reviewing this is going to be difficult, because arguably this book was dogshit. However, I did read it in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. I honeslty think the writing is absolutely terrible. The switching between scenes or different character's POV's just felt so chaotic. The writing was also just extremely simplistic and repetetive. It got a bit grating at times, especially at the start when the plot hadn't really started yet. There was also so much info-dump, most of which wasn't nececary.
I do think the mystery was very gripping though. It definitely isn't a great plot either. Characters just kept just giving everything to our main characters out of nowhere. Our two main characters were also just so incredibly stupid, and honestly it's good that the side characters just told them everything with no prompting because otherwise they would have never gotten anywhere at all. They have 0 researching skills, and it was absolutely shocking when I was told they had been taking a journalism class for 3 years now, because their journalistic "skills" were abysmal. The reveal at the end was also just not shocking at all. However, it still had me completely gripped, and I just didn't want to put the book down.
I also just really didn't like the two main characters. Cam and Blair were just insufferable. I mean, Blair was just annoying, Cam was the absolutely worst. Like I mentioned before they had 0 journalistic skills, they also had 0 interest in true crime they just decided to make a true crime podcast because it's a get famous quick scheme basically. I also think it was very obvious that this book was written by a man. Like, teenage girls do absolutely not behave like that. At times it also felt a bit cringe in the way the author tried sound young. I don't know if that makes sense? It just didn't really make this book work for me.
On top of that I also just think this book tried to say some meaningful things about true crime, the justice system, and all the issues within it but I just don't think it did so succesfully. The talking points just felt very basic, and also a bit forced into the book. It just didn't feel natural. I also just feel like it could have gone a bit more in depth if it really wanted to have something to say, because now it didn't really. So yeah, in conclusion I didn't think this book was good at all but for some reason I couldn't look away, and I will probably read more (woops).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
lore_r's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Minor: Addiction and Suicidal thoughts
cookiedoughicecream's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Cursing
directorpurry's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Car accident
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
viertelvorvier's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Grief
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Chronic illness, Homophobia, and Rape
alylentz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Umm this was INCREDIBLE? The characters in here are all just so well done--Blair and Cam made extremely convincing teenagers, but the supporting cast of adults also felt just as fully fleshed out and realistic. The mystery was interesting and kept me engaged without becoming too unrealistic, and I also really loved that restorative justice was given an approachable introduction to teens here. The little bit of teen romance was fun to read and gave this a little bit of levity. The audiobook production is also really good, and I would recommend it if you're looking to pick this up. I was hoping this would be as good as A Good Girl's Guide to Murder but honestly I think I enjoyed it more. I'm not a huge series person but I'm very excited to pick up the next installment of this. Would recommend to teen readers looking for mysteries with podcast elements and stories focused on strong friendships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, and Murder
themoodreader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
greatexpectations77's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I had tremendous fun with this book, and I want to read so much more from this author. What an incredible portrayal of young adult female friendship and exploring sexuality and girlies searching for justice. Also, the audiobook podcast technique was so much fun here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Bullying
Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Misogyny and Alcohol
itzbrianna's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
“But to miss something g also means to fail to teach it. A failure to catch. A failure to understand.”
Blair and Cam are two friends who take on the task of creating a true crime podcast around the biggest mystery in their small town-the disappearance of Clarissa Campbell. This story is incredibly chaotic in a very entertaining way.
The mystery of what happened to Clarissa is something I figured out very early on in the story but I kept reading to learn if I was right. Naturally, as mysteries do there will be paths that try to deter you from the journey but I trusted my gut with this one.
The characters are strangely lovable to me and they are young. Teenagers. So, they are also annoying and naive and sometimes self involved. This story was framed well and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. The climax happened very quick though and the ending of how everything played out was…..fast? Unmemorable? It was something but it’s not the good kind of something.
Up til that point though? It was a good story to read.
Blair and Cam are two friends who take on the task of creating a true crime podcast around the biggest mystery in their small town-the disappearance of Clarissa Campbell. This story is incredibly chaotic in a very entertaining way.
The mystery of what happened to Clarissa is something I figured out very early on in the story but I kept reading to learn if I was right. Naturally, as mysteries do there will be paths that try to deter you from the journey but I trusted my gut with this one.
The characters are strangely lovable to me and they are young. Teenagers. So, they are also annoying and naive and sometimes self involved. This story was framed well and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. The climax happened very quick though and the ending of how everything played out was…..fast? Unmemorable? It was something but it’s not the good kind of something.
Up til that point though? It was a good story to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Stalking
irenemarie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Alcohol